US author Courtney Zoffness wins £30,000 ‘Sunday Times’ Short Story Award

In the UK, American writer Courtney Zoffness has won the £30,000 (A$54,540) Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for ‘Peanuts Aren’t Nuts’.

Zoffness, only the second ever woman to win the prize, was chosen from a shortlist of six that included Allegra Goodman, Miranda July, Victor Lodato, Molly McCloskey and Curtis Sittenfeld. Her winning story explores the ‘confusing relationship between a high-school student, Pam, and her biology tutor, Mr Peebles, who is arrested in a child-predator sting operation’.

Judge Sebastian Faulks described ‘Peanuts Aren’t Nuts’ as ‘a high-tariff endeavour, exactly brought off’. ‘And at its heart it had that precious thing that underlies the best fiction. It’s not just about giving a voice to the overlooked; it is about valuing the inner world above the outer—dramatically reminding us that this quiet place is where lives are shaped,’ said Faulks.

Zoffness is an assistant professor at Drew University, New Jersey, and is currently writing a debut novel based on her winning short story. The five other shortlisted writers each received a cash prize of £1000 (A$1820).

For more information about the award, and to read the winning short story, click here.

Category: International news